Teenager's murder on Kyiv funicular: interrogation of former UDO employee begins
Kyiv • UNN
Shevchenkivskyi District Court of Kyiv began interrogating Artem Kosov, a former UDO employee accused of the intentional murder of a 16-year-old boy.
Shevchenkivskyi District Court of Kyiv began a session where the interrogation of Artem Kosov, a former employee of the State Protection Department, accused of the intentional murder of a 16-year-old boy at the capital's funicular station, began, UNN reports.
Artem Kosov's interrogation began in court.
"There were people behind me, it was loud. I noticed that it was especially loud on the lower level, there was a ruckus. It wasn't a rude remark, with any swearing. No, that wasn't it. My remark was that they weren't the only ones there. Swearing came my way," Kosov said in court.
Kosov also described his vision of the situation that led to the tragic death of the teenager. He emphasized that many people immediately hit him on the head.
The prosecution in court is personally represented by the Prosecutor General of Ukraine, Ruslan Kravchenko.
Before the court session, people came out with posters to support the victim's relatives.
Addition
On April 8, 2024, Artem Kosov was notified of suspicion of intentional murder of a teenager. As established by the investigation, the incident occurred at the upper funicular station, which leads to the building of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and St. Michael's Golden-Domed Monastery. Kosov, being intoxicated, began to pester a group of teenagers, among whom was Maksym Materukhin. Kosov pushed the 16-year-old boy, who died from the impact of the fall. The investigation in the proceedings was conducted by the State Bureau of Investigation, as at the time of the crime, the suspect was serving in the UDO.
On April 9, 2024, Pecherskyi District Court of Kyiv remanded the law enforcement officer in custody for 60 days, without the right to bail. After that, the preventive measure was extended several times, and currently the accused is in the pre-trial detention center.
On May 5, 2024, DBR employees completed the pre-trial investigation, after which the case materials were handed over to the defense for review.
On May 29, the indictment against former State Protection Department employee Kosov was sent to the Shevchenkivskyi District Court of the capital. During the investigation, DBR investigators established that the murder of the minor was committed for hooligan motives, for which he faces life imprisonment.
On August 14, the Shevchenkivskyi Court of Kyiv appointed a pro bono lawyer for Artem Kosov. The Kyiv court also extended the preventive measure for Artem Kosov until October 11 without the right to bail.
Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko, during the court session on August 20, analyzed the accused's actions based on the video reviewed in court, noting that Kosov's behavior was cynical and demonstrated disregard for human life.
Ruslan Kravchenko also reported that, according to witness testimonies, the accused reached for the place where he had a pistol and thus threatened those around him.